Trump's peace proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a halt to hostilities in the nearly two-year conflict, the release of hostages within 72 hours, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas's disarmament.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Water Authority said Friday that running water would return to central Gaza after damage to supply lines caused by Israel's offensive in the territory cut off access for over nine months.

Turin, Italy - Artificial intelligence technology is in an "industrial bubble," Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told a tech conference in Italy on Friday, but the benefits to society will be "immense". "Investors don't usually give a team of six people a couple billion dollars with no product... and that's happening...

"If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Stockholm, Sweden -- Some Nobel laureates were straight-A students from the get-go. But others AFP spoke to recounted how they cut class, got expelled, and had doubts about their future. Perhaps the most illustrious Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, was once a mediocre student at Zurich Polytechnic School, now ETH...

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The Carrefour name has disappeared from storefronts in some Arab countries, with pro-Palestinian shoppers and activists hailing the shift as a victory for their boycott of brands perceived as being linked to Israel. The French multinational has long been in the crosshairs of Palestinian supporters, who...

New York, United States - Swifties, the wait is nearly over. Taylor Swift's hotly anticipated "The Life of a Showgirl" drops at 12:01 am Eastern time Friday (0401 GMT), accompanied by a swirl of public release parties and plenty of fans in the music superstar's chosen color this time around:...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday promised a "significant" response to "Europe's militarisation", as he addressed a foreign policy forum in southern Russia.

Two people were killed Thursday and four wounded outside a Manchester synagogue packed with worshippers on a Jewish holiday, UK police said, adding they shot dead the suspect in the "terrorist attack".

Turkey called the interception "an act of terrorism," and on Thursday said it had opened an investigation after Israeli forces arrested Turkish citizens on board the flotilla.

The non-oil economy expanded 6.6 percent year-on-year to AED174.1 billion — the highest quarterly value on record — and accounted for 56.8 percent of GDP for the first time in a second quarter.

If confirmed, OpenAI workers' sale of a reported $6.6 billion in shares to investors would make the company the world's most valuable startup, overtaking Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX -- valued at around $400 billion.

Billionaire Elon Musk, the world's richest person, is nearly halfway to becoming the planet's first trillionaire, Forbes magazine reported Wednesday.

Sydney, Australia - The makers of over a dozen suncreams have halted sales in Australia after a consumer advocacy group analysis found many of them did not provide the sun protection factor their makers claimed. Long, hot days in the sun are a fixture of daily life in Australia, famous...

Hamas negotiators held discussions Tuesday with Turkish, Egyptian and Qatari officials in Doha, the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters and adding that the group needed "two or three days at most" to respond.

Washington, United States -- The United States will regard "any armed attack" on Qatari territory as a threat to Washington and will provide the Gulf Arab state with security guarantees, the White House said, after an Israeli strike on the country last month. "In light of the continuing threats to...

Israeli forces killed at least 46 people, including 36 in Gaza City. The deceased include two aid workers southwest of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

Paris, France -- Google said Wednesday it was adding its Gemini generative AI assistant to its smart home devices, saying users would be able to control them with natural language commands. The new "Gemini for Home" feature "replaces the Google Assistant", the previous system for managing the American tech giant's...

New York, United States - Amazon on Tuesday unveiled the latest generation of connected products, featuring enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities designed to make interactions with AI more frequent and natural. Nearly 20 years after the launch of the Kindle e-reader, the Seattle-based online retail giant now offers a family of...

Tony Blair, Britain's former prime minister whose legacy was heavily tarnished by the 2003 war in Iraq, has long been a contentious figure in the Middle East and beyond.

Sana, Yemen - Yemen's Huthi rebels claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack on a Dutch cargo ship this week in the busy shipping lane of the Gulf of Aden. The Iran-backed group, which holds swathes of territory in Yemen including the capital Sanaa, has said the attacks on commercial...

Tokyo, Japan -- An artificial intelligence tool that can detect tiny, hard-to-spot brain malformations in children with epilepsy could help patients access life-changing surgery quicker, Australian researchers said on Wednesday. It is the latest example of how AI, which can crunch vast amounts of data, is changing healthcare by assisting...

Paris, France -- Scientists said Wednesday they have turned human skin cells into eggs and fertilized them with sperm in the lab for the first time -- a breakthrough that is hoped to one day let infertile people have children. The technology is still years away from potentially becoming available...

The plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, a disarmament of Hamas and the gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

The plan calls for a ceasefire, release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, disarmament of Hamas and gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

US sanctions went into effect Monday on a major Indian port project in Iran, as President Donald Trump again showed his willingness to punish longstanding partner New Delhi in aid of his wider regional goals -- in this case to pressure Tehran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling Qatar's prime minister from the White House on Monday, apologized for strikes against Hamas in the Gulf country and promised not to do so again, the United States said.

Washington, United States -- Video game giant Electronic Arts announced Monday it would be acquired by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund for $55 billion, in what EA said would be the largest all-cash private equity buyout in history. The consortium also includes US investment firms Silver...

He repeated "very confident" when asked if all parties were on board with the 21-point plan to end the nearly two-year war, free hostages held by Hamas and disarm the Palestinian armed groups.

The hospitality industry sits at the crossroads of experience and responsibility. As utilities, energy, and resource costs rise, and as travelers grow more discerning about their environmental footprint, I believe hotels that prioritize sustainable operations are positioning themselves as sector leaders. At STORY Hospitality, sustainability is woven into both the...

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Pakistan captain Salman Agha said India had "disrespected cricket" while Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav complained his side "were denied the trophy" after winning a fraught Asia Cup. The two teams did not shake hands for the third Asia Cup match running as India won the...

Hamas's armed wing urged the Israeli military to temporarily halt air strikes and withdraw from part of Gaza City on Sunday as it tried to locate two Israeli hostages it said it had lost contact with.

While the plan offers several concessions to Palestinians, it also carries provisions favorable to Israel — including Hamas’ demilitarisation and programs to “de-radicalise” Gaza’s population.

Tehran, Iran -- As United Nations sanctions returned in full force on Sunday, Iranians felt the strain deepen, with prices soaring and the rial sinking to new lows. For Helia, a 33-year-old graphic designer in Tehran, the impact was already visible: the price tag on the furniture for her new...

The meeting comes days after Trump unveiled a 21-point plan aimed at ending the war in the Palestinian territory during discussions with Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Paris, France -- Saudi side Al Ittihad sacked manager Laurent Blanc on Sunday in the wake of a 2-0 defeat to Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr. Blanc's assistant Hassan Khalifa will take over as caretaker coach until further notice, Al Ittihad announced on social media with the club third in the...

A statement from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and the Thousand Madleens to Gaza (TMTG) said they intended to "break the illegal Israeli blockade" to deliver aid to the Palestinian territory.

The sanctions, three months after Israel and the United States bombed Iran, bar dealings related to Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missiles program and are also expected to have wider effects on its troubled economy.

Beijing, China -- The world's highest bridge opened to traffic in China on Sunday, state media said, capping an engineering feat three years in the making and snatching the record from another bridge in the same province. The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge towers 625 metres (2,051 feet) above a river...

NATO flexed its muscles in the North Sea this week in a display of military might, as Russia allegedly tested the alliance's defences on its eastern flank.

Sweeping UN sanctions loomed for Iran late Saturday for the first time in a decade, after last ditch nuclear talks with Western powers failed to produce a breakthrough.

The new mutual defence pact signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia this month surprised many and came just days after the Gulf region was rattled by Israeli strikes on a Hamas compound in Qatar.

Washington, United States - US President Donald Trump's granddaughter has unveiled a clothing brand bearing her name, with promotional photos taken at the White House featuring the teen in a $130 sweatshirt. Don Jr.'s daughter stood near the 79-year-old Republican on Friday wearing one of her brand's pullovers, as he...

China and Russia at a Security Council session on Friday put forward a draft resolution, seen by AFP, that would give another half year for talks, or until April 18, 2026.

Netanyahu, who said his speech was being partially broadcast on Israeli military loudspeakers in Gaza, vowed to "finish the job" against Hamas even as President Donald Trump said he thought he had sealed a deal on a ceasefire.

Istanbul, Turkey -- Turkish Airlines announced on Friday a deal to buy up to 225 Boeing jets, one day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his first White House visit since 2019. The more than two-hour meeting between Erdogan and President Donald Trump raised Ankara's hopes of seeing Washington lift...

Tehran, Iran -- Iran and Russia signed a $25 billion deal to build nuclear power plants in the Islamic republic, Iranian state media reported Friday, just hours ahead of the likely return of sweeping UN sanctions on Iran. "A deal for the construction of four nuclear power plants with a...

While several companies including Alstom and Opodo had been removed from the non-exhaustive database, major firms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Motorola Solutions and TripAdvisor remained on the list.

San Francisco, United States - Microsoft on Thursday said it cut an Israeli defense unit's access to some cloud services apparently being used as part of a mass surveillance operation in Gaza. The move came after Microsoft spent more than two months investigating a report in The Guardian that the...

US President Donald Trump announced Thursday punishing tariffs on pharmaceuticals, big-rig trucks, home renovation fixtures and furniture, reviving his global trade war.